Graphical interface data fragment operations for data visualization

ABSTRACT

Techniques are described for providing visualizations of data with options for a user to manipulate the data visualizations. These data visualization options may provide flexible and rapid comparison of different fragments of data. In one example, a method includes outputting a display of a data visualization in a graphical user interface. The method further includes receiving a first user input selecting a first fragment of the data visualization to freeze. The method further includes receiving a second user input selecting a second fragment of the data visualization to reposition to a new position relative to the frozen fragment of the data visualization. The method further includes outputting a revised display of the data visualization in the graphical user interface that displays the repositioned fragment of the data visualization in the new position relative to the frozen fragment of the data visualization.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to business intelligence systems, and moreparticularly, to dashboard environments for business intelligencesystems.

BACKGROUND

Enterprise software systems are typically sophisticated, large-scalesystems that support many, e.g., hundreds or thousands, of concurrentusers. Examples of enterprise software systems include financialplanning systems, budget planning systems, order management systems,inventory management systems, sales force management systems, businessintelligence tools, enterprise reporting tools, project and resourcemanagement systems, and other enterprise software systems.

Many enterprise performance management and business planningapplications require a large base of users to enter data that thesoftware then accumulates into higher level areas of responsibility inthe organization. Moreover, once data has been entered, it must beretrieved to be utilized. The system may perform mathematicalcalculations on the data, combining data submitted by many users. Usingthe results of these calculations, the system may generate reports forreview by higher management. Often these complex systems make use ofmultidimensional data sources that organize and manipulate thetremendous volume of data using data structures referred to as datacubes. Each data cube, for example, includes a plurality of hierarchicaldimensions having levels and members for storing the multidimensionaldata.

Visualization tools may allow users to visualize business intelligencedata. Visualization tools may make use of charts and graphs to representsets of data. Typically, a data visualization tool may be used tovisualize data in accordance with filters or parameters defined by userinputs via a data filter definition interface.

SUMMARY

In general, examples disclosed herein are directed to techniques foreffective or rapid comparison of fragments of data representations.

In one example, a method includes outputting, by a computing device, adisplay of a data visualization in a graphical user interface. Themethod further includes receiving, by the computing device, a first userinput selecting a first fragment of the data visualization to freeze,thereby defining a frozen fragment of the data visualization, whereinthe first user input is entered via a pointer positioned at the firstfragment of the data visualization in the display of the datavisualization in the graphical user interface. The method furtherincludes receiving, by the computing device, a second user inputselecting a second fragment of the data visualization to reposition to anew position relative to the frozen fragment of the data visualization,thereby defining a repositioned fragment of the data visualization,wherein the second user input is entered via a pointer positioned at thesecond fragment of the data visualization in the display of the datavisualization in the graphical user interface. The method furtherincludes outputting, by the computing device, a revised display of thedata visualization in the graphical user interface that displays therepositioned fragment of the data visualization in the new positionrelative to the frozen fragment of the data visualization.

In another embodiment, a computing system includes one or moreprocessors, and computer-executable program instructions, for executionby the one or more processors. The computing system further includesprogram instructions for outputting a display of a data visualization ina graphical user interface. The computing system further includesprogram instructions for receiving a first user input selecting a firstfragment of the data visualization to freeze, thereby defining a frozenfragment of the data visualization, wherein the first user input isentered via a pointer positioned at the first fragment of the datavisualization in the display of the data visualization in the graphicaluser interface. The computing system further includes programinstructions for receiving a second user input selecting a secondfragment of the data visualization to reposition to a new positionrelative to the frozen fragment of the data visualization, therebydefining a repositioned fragment of the data visualization, wherein thesecond user input is entered via a pointer positioned at the secondfragment of the data visualization in the display of the datavisualization in the graphical user interface. The computing systemfurther includes program instructions for outputting a revised displayof the data visualization in the graphical user interface that displaysthe repositioned fragment of the data visualization in the new positionrelative to the frozen fragment of the data visualization.

In another embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumincludes executable instructions stored thereon. The executableinstructions may configure one or more programmable processors to outputa display of a data visualization in a graphical user interface. Theexecutable instructions may further configure one or more programmableprocessors to receive a first user input selecting a first fragment ofthe data visualization to freeze, thereby defining a frozen fragment ofthe data visualization, wherein the first user input is entered via apointer positioned at the first fragment of the data visualization inthe display of the data visualization in the graphical user interface.The executable instructions may further configure one or moreprogrammable processors to receive a second user input selecting asecond fragment of the data visualization to reposition to a newposition relative to the frozen fragment of the data visualization,thereby defining a repositioned fragment of the data visualization,wherein the second user input is entered via a pointer positioned at thesecond fragment of the data visualization in the display of the datavisualization in the graphical user interface. The executableinstructions may further configure one or more programmable processorsto output a revised display of the data visualization in the graphicaluser interface that displays the repositioned fragment of the datavisualization in the new position relative to the frozen fragment of thedata visualization.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth inthe accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features,objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thedescription and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example enterprise having acomputing environment in which users interact with an enterprisebusiness intelligence system and data sources accessible over a publicnetwork.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of an enterprisebusiness intelligence system with a client computing device running abusiness intelligence dashboard with various pattern representationimages for business intelligence dashboard objects.

FIG. 3 depicts a column chart business data visualization in anoriginally presented view.

FIGS. 4-7 depict column chart business data visualizations beingsubjected to various freezing and dragging data comparison operations.

FIG. 8 depicts a column chart business data visualization beingsubjected to a data comparison operation to display superposed data barswith a delta display.

FIG. 9 depicts a process for manipulating a data visualization inresponse to user inputs in the graphical user interface of the datavisualization that may be performed by a data visualization tool in abusiness intelligence (BI) system.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a computing device that may execute a datavisualization tool for data comparison operations in a datavisualization.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various examples are disclosed herein for a data visualization tool fordata comparison operations in a data visualization.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example context in which a system of thisdisclosure may be used. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating anexample enterprise 4 having a computing environment 10 in which aplurality of users 12A-12N (collectively, “users 12”) may interact withan enterprise business intelligence (BI) system 14. In the system shownin FIG. 1, enterprise business intelligence system 14 is communicativelycoupled to a number of client computing devices 16A-16N (collectively,“client computing devices 16” or “computing devices 16”) by anenterprise network 18. Users 12 interact with their respective computingdevices to access enterprise business intelligence system 14. Users 12,computing devices 16A-16N, enterprise network 18, and enterprisebusiness intelligence system 14 may all be either in a single facilityor widely dispersed in two or more separate locations anywhere in theworld, in different examples.

For exemplary purposes, various examples of the techniques of thisdisclosure may be readily applied to various software systems, includingenterprise business intelligence systems or other large-scale enterprisesoftware systems. Examples of enterprise software systems includeenterprise financial or budget planning systems, order managementsystems, inventory management systems, sales force management systems,business intelligence tools, enterprise reporting tools, project andresource management systems, and other enterprise software systems.

In this example, enterprise BI system 14 includes servers that run BIdashboard web applications and may provide business analytics software.A user 12 may use a BI portal on a client computing device 16 to viewand manipulate information such as business intelligence reports (“BIreports”) and other collections and visualizations of data via theirrespective computing devices 16. This may include data from any of awide variety of sources, including from multidimensional data structuresand relational databases within enterprise 4, as well as data from avariety of external sources that may be accessible over public network15.

Users 12 may use a variety of different types of computing devices 16 tointeract with enterprise business intelligence system 14 and access datavisualization tools and other resources via enterprise network 18. Forexample, an enterprise user 12 may interact with enterprise businessintelligence system 14 and run a business intelligence dashboard using alaptop computer, a desktop computer, or the like, which may run a webbrowser. Alternatively, an enterprise user may use a smartphone, tabletcomputer, or similar device, running a business intelligence dashboardin either a web browser or a dedicated mobile application forinteracting with enterprise business intelligence system 14.

Enterprise network 18 and public network 15 may represent anycommunication network, such as a packet-based digital network such as aprivate enterprise intranet or a public network like the Internet. Inthis manner, computing environment 10 can readily scale to suit largeenterprises. Enterprise users 12 may directly access enterprise businessintelligence system 14 via a local area network, or may remotely accessenterprise business intelligence system 14 via a virtual privatenetwork, remote dial-up, or similar remote access communicationmechanism.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating in further detail portions of oneembodiment of an enterprise business intelligence (BI) system 14. Inthis example implementation, a single client computing device 16A isshown for purposes of example and includes a data visualization tool 22and one or more client-side enterprise software applications 26 that mayutilize and manipulate multidimensional data, including to generate datavisualizations with data visualization tool 22. Data visualization tool22 may be rendered within a general web browser application, within alocally hosted application or mobile application, or other userinterface. Data visualization tool 22 may be generated or rendered usingany combination of application software and data local to the computingdevice it's being generated on, and remotely hosted in one or moreapplication servers or other remote resources.

Data visualization tool 22 may output data visualizations for a user toview and manipulate in accordance with various techniques described infurther detail below. Data visualization tool 22 may present data in theform of charts or graphs that a user may manipulate, for example. Datavisualization tool 22 may present visualizations of data based on datafrom sources such as a BI report, e.g., that may be generated withenterprise business intelligence system 14, or another BI dashboard, aswell as other types of data sourced from external resources throughpublic network 15. Data visualization tool 22 may present visualizationsof data based on data that may be sourced from within or external to theenterprise.

FIG. 2 depicts additional detail for enterprise business intelligencesystem 14 and how it may be accessed via interaction with a datavisualization tool 22 for depicting and providing visualizations ofbusiness data. Data visualization tool 22 may provide visualizations ofdata that represents, provides data from, or links to any of a varietyof types of resource, such as a BI report, a software application, adatabase, a spreadsheet, a data structure, a flat file, ExtensibleMarkup Language (“XML”) data, a data stream, unorganized text or data,or other type of file or resource.

As depicted in FIG. 2, enterprise business intelligence system 14 isimplemented in accordance with a three-tier architecture: (1) one ormore web servers 14A that provide web applications 23 with userinterface functions, including a BI dashboard application 21; (2) one ormore application servers 14B that provide an operating environment forenterprise software applications 25 and a data access service 20; and(3) database servers 14C that provide one or more data sources 14C. Thedata sources 14C may include two-dimensional databases and/ormultidimensional databases, i.e. cubes. The data sources may beimplemented using a variety of vendor platforms, and may be distributedthroughout the enterprise. As one example, the data sources 14C may bemultidimensional databases configured for Online Analytical Processing(OLAP). As another example, the data sources 14C may be multidimensionaldatabases configured to receive and execute Multidimensional Expression(MDX) queries of some arbitrary level of complexity. As yet anotherexample, the data sources 14C may be two-dimensional relationaldatabases configured to receive and execute SQL queries, also with anarbitrary level of complexity.

Multidimensional data structures are “multidimensional” in that eachmultidimensional data element is defined by a plurality of differentobject types, where each object is associated with a differentdimension. The enterprise applications 26 on computing device 16A mayissue business queries to enterprise business intelligence system 14 tobuild reports. Enterprise business intelligence system 14 includes adata access service 20 that provides a logical interface to the datasources 14C. Client computing device 16A may transmit query requeststhrough enterprise network 18 to data access service 20. Data accessservice 20 may, for example, execute on the application serversintermediate to the enterprise applications 25 and the underlying datasources in database servers 14C. Data access service 20 retrieves aquery result set from the underlying data sources, in accordance withquery specifications. Data access service 20 may intercept or receivequeries, e.g., by way of an API presented to enterprise applications 26.Data access service 20 may then return this result set to enterpriseapplications 26 as BI reports, other BI objects, and/or other sources ofdata that are made accessible to data visualization tool 22 on clientcomputing device 16A.

Data visualization tool 22 may provide data visualizations for amultidimensional data structure, a database, an external webapplication, or other data source, and provide access to or be populatedor defined by a corresponding data source. Data visualization tool 22may provide representations or visualizations of data frommultidimensional data structures, databases, or other data sources. Datavisualization tool 22 may provide representations or visualizations ofdata categorized among multiple dimensions such as geographical areas,product categories, sales channels, currencies, and various financialmetrics such as unit sales, costs, revenues, profits, and margins, forexample.

In a visualization with a substantial amount of data (e.g., a bar chartor a column chart that represents many data points), it may becomedifficult for a user to compare representations of multiple data points(as represented by data fragments or fragments of the datavisualization, e.g., columns of a column chart, bars of a bar chart,slices of a pie chart, or any other set of one or more elements of adata visualization) spread out among the chart. It may requireconsiderable time and effort for a business user to make sense out of avisualization, when the user is specifically looking to make decisionsbased on comparisons between specific data points or subsets of data asrepresented within a larger data visualization. Specifying filters onthe data, such as measure, dimension, and categorical filters, mayrequire a user to go into a separate data view to select data sets ofinterest. After a user specifies filters, if a user decides to bring inadditional data points for comparison, the user may need to go back tothe filter definition and update it accordingly. This requires the userto alternate between a graphical user interface to view and analyze thedata visualization, and a filter definition interface to filter orotherwise alter the parameters of the data visualization, and tocontinue alternating between these two interfaces as many times as theuser may want to alternate between viewing the data visualization andmodifying its parameters.

A user may want to compare multiple particular data fragments from amonga larger set of data fragments in a data visualization, such as a chartor graph. (A data fragment may be any representation of one or more datapoints in a data visualization, such as one or more data columns in acolumn chart, one or more data bars in a bar chart, or one or more pieslices in a pie chart, for example.) There may be instances in which,even after filtering the data (such as with a measure filter, e.g., allweeks where sales are below $50,000 in a sales data visualization), thedata fragments that need to be compared may fall far across disparatesections of a data visualization. This may make it difficult for theuser to compare the data values of interest.

Data visualization tool 22 may resolve these issues and provide fasterand easier comparison of data fragments across different sections of adata visualization (e.g., a chart or graph) by allowing a user to filteror modify the parameters of a data visualization directly in a graphicaluser interface in which the data visualization is displayed. Forexample, data visualization tool 22 may enable a user to isolate or“freeze” one or more data fragments (e.g., data columns of a columnchart) of the data visualization and manipulate the positions of one ormore data fragments relative to one or more frozen data fragments withinthe data visualization. In one example, a user may collect multiple datafragments or portions of interest from separate portions of a datavisualization and reposition the data fragments adjacent to each other.This may provide easier visual comparison of the data fragments, whilealso maintaining information on the context of the data fragments withinthe greater data set. Such repositioning of data fragments mayfacilitate analysis of the data and decision-making based on the data.Freezing a data fragment may, in various examples, include freezing aportion of a data column chart from one edge of the chart to a selecteddata column, or only a selected data column in isolation. Aspects ofexamples such as these are further described below.

As another example of an option for manipulating a data visualization,data visualization tool 22 may enable a user to drag a data fragment insuperposition with (e.g., on top of) another frozen data fragment to seethe delta (i.e. the difference) between the measure values of the twodata fragments. Data visualization tool 22 may enable the draggingfeature by enabling the second user input, for selecting the secondfragment of the data visualization to reposition to a new positionrelative to the frozen fragment, by receiving a left-click input whilethe pointer is positioned at the second fragment of the datavisualization, and displaying the second fragment in a modified positionthat corresponds to a modified position of the pointer. For example, theuser may position a mouse pointer on top of a fragment of the datavisualization (e.g., a data column in a column chart), enter and hold aleft-click input, then move the pointer while continuing to hold theleft-click, and data visualization tool 22 may respond by displaying theselected fragment in a modified position that corresponds to theposition of the pointer as the user moves (or modifies the position of)the pointer to a new position of the data visualization. Datavisualization tool 22 may repetitively or practically continuouslyreposition the dragged fragment along with the pointer as long as theuser continues to drag the selected fragment, until the user entersanother input (e.g., releases a left-click button) to release the datafragment from being dragged or repositioned.

Data visualization tool 22 may therefore enable interactivevisualization of data that may allow users to perform effectivecomparisons between different data fragments of a data visualization. Inparticular, data visualization tool 22 may enable a computing device toreceive a first user input selecting a portion of a data visualizationto freeze, thereby defining a frozen portion of the data visualization,wherein the first user input is entered via a pointer positioned at theselected portion of the data visualization in the display of the datavisualization in the graphical user interface. Data visualization tool22 may similarly enable a computing device to receive a second userinput selecting a portion of the data visualization to reposition to anew position relative to the frozen portion of the data visualization,thereby defining a repositioned portion of the data visualization,wherein the second user input is entered via a pointer positioned at theportion of the data visualization selected for repositioning in thegraphical user interface.

The pointer input may include a mouse navigation pointer or cursorpositioned on top of a graphical data element in a data visualization,such as a column (e.g., a data column graphically representing a datapoint) in a column chart, or a pie slice (e.g., a data pie slicegraphically representing a data point) in a pie chart, for example. Thepointer input may also include a touch contact on the position of agraphical data element on a touchscreen, or an input with a pointernavigated via a touchpad, trackball, joystick, or any other navigationalinput device. The pointer input may also include a right-click to callup a context menu while the pointer is placed on top of or insuperposition with the graphical data element, and a menu optionselection from the context menu (such as to freeze the graphical dataelement), such that the menu option selection is applied to thegraphical data element on which the pointer is superposed. The pointerinput may also include a left-click on a graphical data element on whichthe pointer is superposed (e.g., to select a graphical data element) ora motion with a pointer while a selector input mechanism is maintained(e.g., a left-click button is held down while a pointer is moved with amouse to drag a data element).

Data visualization tool 22 may thus enable user inputs directly ongraphical data elements in a data visualization to perform operationsthat otherwise might require alternating to a filter definitioninterface, separate from a graphical user interface in which a datavisualization is displayed. Data visualization tool 22 may thereby makethe process of interacting with a data visualization simpler, faster,and more intuitive.

Data visualization tool 22 may enable the ability to freeze and/ormanipulate data fragments in any of various ways. For example, datavisualization tool 22 may provide a context menu option to select (e.g.,with a right-click) a data fragment in visualization to freeze, or atoolbar or menu option followed by selecting (e.g., by left-clicking on)a data fragment. Data visualization tool 22 may enable dragging a datafragment in a “drag to compare” option, for example as a context menuoption with right-click on a data point in visualization, or a toolbaroption followed by data fragment selection on click. A drag to compareoperation may also treat non-frozen data fragments in a visualization asa circular set when the user repositions one or more non-frozen datafragments within the set, to maintain context among the data fragments,as explained in more detail below.

A drag to compare option of data visualization tool 22 may also enable asuperposed delta view of data fragments, in which a user may drag a datafragment in superposition with or on top of a frozen data fragment andhighlight the delta or difference between the dragged data point and thefrozen fragment, for example. Data visualization tool 22 may use any ofvarious means, such as displaying different colors or opacities, tohighlight a delta between a dragged data fragment and a frozen datafragment that a user superposes together. A delta may be highlighted inpre-defined colors for different meanings. For example, the delta may behighlighted in green in a chart or graph if the value of the draggeddata fragment is higher than that of the frozen data fragment on whichit is superposed, and in red if the value of the dragged data point islower than that of the frozen data fragment on which it is superposed.Data visualization tool 22 may render deltas between dragged datafragments and frozen data fragments in any other colors, shades,opacities, or other visual indications, with different options showing adragged data fragment as either higher or lower than a frozen datafragment, or in some other comparative relationship with a frozen datafragment.

A delta can be shown as a positive number with information on the datafragments (e.g., category labels). The difference in values may bestated explicitly as well as visually indicated, such as according tothe formula:Δ=Dd−Df  (Eq. 1)where Δ is the delta or difference between the values of the datafragments, Dd is the value of the data fragment on top (e.g., of thedragged data fragment), and Df is the value of the data point below(e.g., of the frozen data fragment). Data visualization tool 22 may alsoprovide options that enable a user to freeze multiple data fragmentsand/or to drag multiple data fragments in a visualization. A delta maybe calculated and displayed for single values for data fragmentsrepresenting single data points, or for an array of values for datafragments representing multiple data points, for example.

Data visualization tool 22 may also provide options to release frozendata fragments and return the data visualization to an earlier state ofmanipulation or to its original state. In this case, data visualizationtool 22 may receive a user input selecting a frozen fragment to releasefrom freezing, and data visualization tool 22 may output a new reviseddisplay of the data visualization in the graphical user interface thatdisplays the data visualization in an earlier state prior to thefreezing of the frozen fragment, or in a state as is the freezing hadnot taken place, in some examples. In particular, data visualizationtool 22 may output a new revised display of the data visualization inthe graphical user interface that displays the repositioned fragment andthe frozen fragment in positions in the data visualization previouslyoccupied by the repositioned fragment and the frozen fragment prior tothe freezing of the frozen fragment. In case of inputs to releasemultiple frozen fragments, this may also involve returning a datavisualization to a state in which data visualization tool 22 may returnmultiple frozen fragments and/or repositioned fragments to theirprevious positions prior to freezing and/or repositioning, potentiallyback to the original state of the data visualization prior to anyfreezing or repositioning.

FIGS. 3-7 demonstrate examples of a data visualization subject to datafragment comparison operations enabled by data visualization tool 22. Inthis example, data visualization tool 22 displays a column chartrepresenting weekly sales volume data for a one-year period from aselected portion of sales channels, as a representative business usecase. FIG. 3 shows a column chart 180 of the one-year data set as it maybe originally provided, prior to any comparison manipulations. Startingfrom the view of FIG. 3, a user may, as an illustrative example, wish tocompare sales made in weeks 9, week 19 and week 34 of the one-yearperiod, as represented in the form of data columns or data fragments incolumn chart 180. To do so, the user may manipulate column chart 180using an implementation of data visualization tool 22.

To begin, data visualization tool 22 may enable the user to freeze theweek 9 data column in column chart 180 by a specific user input, such asinputs to right click on the week 9 data column to call up a contextmenu 142, and then to select a “freeze” option 144 on the context menu,as one example. FIG. 4 depicts a revised column chart 182 after the userfreeze input on week 9, with a visual indicator 202 of the boundarybetween the frozen portion of the chart (weeks 1-9) and the portion orfragment of the chart that remains non-frozen (weeks 10-52).

Data visualization tool 22 may enable the user to then perform a “dragto compare” operation on the week 19 data column to bring it next to theweek 9 data column by another specific user input, such as inputs toleft-click-and-hold on the week 19 data column with a pointer, and thento reposition the pointer while continuing to hold the left-click input,thereby dragging data column 19 across column chart 182, as one example.FIG. 5 depicts a newly revised column chart 184 after the drag tocompare operation on the week 19 data column to bring it next to theweek 9 data column in the column chart. As shown in newly revised columnchart 184, data visualization tool 22 has enabled the user to repositionthe week 19 data column immediately adjacent to the week 9 data column,making visual comparison between these two data points easier than whenthey are separated across different portions of the column chart withmany intervening data columns between them, as in the original columnchart 180.

As revised column chart 184 also shows, the data columns throughout thenon-frozen section or fragment of the column chart (i.e., for weeks10-52) may be treated as a cycle that circulates between the boundary202 with the frozen portion of the column chart (between weeks 9 and 10)through the opposing end of the chart (week 52), so that as the week 19data column is dragged to adjacency with week 9, the data columns fromweek 10 through week 18 are recirculated to the end of the chart, afterweek 52. Data visualization tool 22 may also introduce a visual marker212 (or visual indication) to revised column chart 184 to indicate theposition of the join between the two ends of the cycled, unfrozenportion of the column chart 184, representing the circular portion ofthe data set formed outside the boundary of the portion selected by theuser for freezing. Visual marker 212 thereby indicates the position of ajoin in the data visualization, where fragments of a portion of the datavisualization that remain non-frozen and were previously positioned atopposing ends of a non-frozen portion of the data visualization arepositioned adjacent to each other. Visual marker 212 thereby may provideadditional context information on the data fragments and their relationto each other, that may help the user visualize the relationships amongthe data fragments during operations to manipulate the datavisualization.

Data visualization tool 22 may enable the user to then freeze the week19 data column, and then do a drag to compare operation on week 34 tobring it next to the week 19 data column. Data visualization tool 22 mayin some examples enable these operations on column chart 184 throughsimilar user inputs to those described above, such as a right-click on adata column to open a context menu with a freeze option, and aleft-click-and-hold to drag a data column and cycle the non-frozenportion of the column chart. Data visualization tool 22 may respond tothe user inputs for the operation of freezing the week 19 data column byfirst displaying another newly revised column chart 186, as shown inFIG. 6, in which a new boundary 204 is displayed between the newlyfrozen data column for week 19 (on the left of boundary 204) and thestill non-frozen data column for week 20 (on the right of boundary 204).FIG. 6 also indicates, for comparison, the position 202 of the priorboundary (no longer displayed in the view of FIG. 6) between the frozenand non-frozen portions of the column chart previous to the user inputto freeze the week 19 data column. Revised column chart 186 also stillshows visual marker 212 to indicate the position of the join between thetwo ends of the cycled, still unfrozen portion of the column chart 186,which is unaffected by the freeze operation on the week 19 data column.

Data visualization tool 22 may then respond to the user inputs for thedrag to compare operation on week 34 to bring it next to the week 19data column, by displaying another newly revised column chart 188 asshown in FIG. 7. In the view of FIG. 7, data visualization tool 22 hasresponded to the user input for the operation of dragging the week 19data column by displaying another newly revised column chart 188. Columnchart 188 displays the week 34 data column positioned immediatelyadjacent to the week 19 data column, on either side of boundary 204between the frozen and unfrozen portions of the chart. Thus, the datacolumns for all three of weeks 9, 19, and 34 are positioned in a groupimmediately adjacent one next to the other, without other data columnsintervening between them.

Newly revised column chart 188 created by data visualization tool 22thereby enables the user to compare the sales data for these three weeksof interest (9, 19, and 34) directly with each other, instead of tryingto visualize a comparison among these multiple weeks of interest acrosswidely separated positions of the column chart. In data visualizationswith larger data sets and/or a larger number of particular data valuesof interest than in this example, the capabilities provided by datavisualization tool 22 of this disclosure may become all the more usefulin facilitating such data comparisons.

Newly revised column chart 188 of FIG. 7 also still displays marker 212for the join of the unfrozen data portions, now repositioned along withthe new position of the join between the week 52 and week 10 datacolumns, due to the dragging of the unfrozen portion of the column chartalong with the dragging of the week 34 data column. The dragging of theunfrozen portion of the column chart has also resulted in the week 20through week 33 data columns being recirculated, from between the frozenportion boundary 204 and the week 34 data column (as in column chart 186in FIG. 6), to the opposing end of the column chart 188. Another visualmarker or visual indication 222 may, in some examples, also be renderedto mark the discontinuity between data columns 18 and 20, due to theprevious freezing of the week 19 data column and subsequent operationsleaving the weeks 18 and 20 data columns adjacent to each other in therecirculated portion of the column chart. Visual marker 222 therebyindicates a position of a discontinuity in the data visualization, wherefragments of a portion of the data visualization that remain non-frozenand were previously separated by a portion of the data visualizationthat was subsequently frozen are positioned adjacent to each other.Visual marker 222 thereby may also provide additional contextinformation on the data fragments and their relation to each other, thatmay help the user visualize the relationships among the data fragmentsduring operations to manipulate the data visualization.

In the examples of FIGS. 4-7, freezing a data fragment includesautomatically freezing a range of the data elements in the datavisualization (e.g., the data columns in the column chart). In these andother examples, defining the frozen fragment of the data visualizationmay include freezing a range of data elements (e.g., data columns, bars,pie slices, etc.) bounded at a first end by a data element (e.g., a datacolumn) indicated by a position of the pointer during a particular userinput. In these particular examples, defining the frozen fragment of thedata visualization also includes the range of data elements for freezingbeing bounded at an opposing end of the range from the first end by anedge of the data visualization, e.g., the left edge (e.g., the “time=0”edge or the origin of the x axis of a chart or graph), such that therange of data elements from a particular edge to the selected dataelement are defined as the frozen fragment.

In other examples, defining the frozen fragment of the datavisualization may include freezing only one or more data elementsindicated by one or more positions of the pointer during the first userinput. In this case, all the rest of the data elements in the datavisualization aside from the individually selected frozen fragments mayalso be joined in a circular data set for repositioning, withdiscontinuities only at the points where the individually frozen dataelements are removed. This option of freezing only individually selecteddata elements may add further flexibility to a data visualization tool22.

Applying this option for only individually selected data elements tomodify the examples above with reference to FIGS. 4-7, a user may freezethe data column for week 9 alone, which leaves weeks 1-8 unfrozen. Datavisualization tool 22 may visually indicate week 9 alone with adifferent color or other visibly different marker in the datavisualization in the graphical user interface to show that week 9 aloneis frozen. The user may then drag or reposition week 19 next to week 9,and the columns for weeks 1-8 and 10-18 may be circulated around thedata visualization, with markers for a join between weeks 52 and 1, andfor a discontinuity between weeks 8 and 10, indicating where the week 9data column has been frozen out of the circulating data set. The usermay then freeze week 19 in place next to week 9 and then drag orreposition the week 34 data column next to the week 9 data column. Datavisualization tool 22 may then analogously represent week 19 as frozen,and display the weeks 20-33 data columns repositioned appropriately aspart of the circulating data set, with another discontinuity markerbetween the weeks 18 and 20 data columns, indicating the prior relativeposition of the week 19 column.

FIG. 8 shows an example of another data comparison mode enabled by datavisualization tool 22, using a visual indicator of a delta display 234(e.g., a visual indication of the delta or difference) between two datacolumns positioned in overlay or superposition together at the sameposition in a column chart 192. Data visualization tool 22 may displaycolumn chart 192 in response to a user input to superimpose two datacolumns directly on top of each other or in superposition together. Forexample, the user may drag a second data column on top of data column232, where the second data column is for a larger value than data column232 and occupies the area of data column 232 plus delta display 234 inthe display of column chart 192. Data visualization tool 22 therebyshows the difference between two selected data columns, andcorresponding value measures, in the form of delta 234, for directlyvisualized comparison of the corresponding data points.

Some examples for comparison modes in data visualization tool 22 withone data column overlaying or superimposed on another may render a deltahighlighted in green if the data column on top (e.g., the dragged orrepositioned data column) has a higher value than that of the underlyingdata column (e.g., the data column that remains stationary), and in redif the data column on top has a lower value than that of the underlyingdata column, as an illustrative example. The corresponding numericaldifference in measure values may be explicitly shown in a displayednumber 242 (with a displayed value of 242 in this example, which maycorrespond to a difference in weekly sales volume in thousands of U.S.dollars, as one example) adjacent to the corresponding highlighted deltadisplay 234 of the column chart in some examples. The difference inmeasure values may be calculated using the formula for delta as shownabove in Equation 1.

Data visualization tool 22 may generate the display of column chart 192as shown in FIG. 8 in response to user inputs to superpose two datacolumns in a context similar to that of the examples discussed above inreference to FIGS. 3-7. In this example, the user may want to compareweek 9 with week 19. The user may freeze the week 9 data column, thenenter inputs for a “drag to compare” operation to reposition the week 19data column on top of the week 9 data column. The values correspondingto the week 19 and week 9 values are 1646 and 1402 in this example, witha difference of 242. Data visualization tool 22 may display the call outvalue 242 (at 242) adjacent to delta display 234, and render the deltadisplay 234 in green since the data column on top (for week 19) is for adata point with a higher value (i.e., 1646, higher than 1402 for week 9,displayed as data column 232).

The user may then want to compare week 10 with week 28. The user mayfreeze the week 10 data column, and use the “drag to compare” feature toreposition the week 28 data column on top of the week 10 data column(not shown in FIG. 8). The week 28 value may be 450 and the week 10value may be 550, and data visualization tool 22 may show the deltadisplay in red since the data point on top is lower. The datavisualization tool 22 may also show a numerical call out display of thedelta, −100, adjacent to the delta display in the column chart.

In some examples, a delta display may always be highlighted in onepre-defined color. The difference may be shown as a positive number withdata point information, such as a category label. Other examples may useanalogous techniques for freezing multiple axes in an appropriatelyapplicable visualization, such as for freezing a section in a bubblechart.

In another example, a user may use data visualization tool 22 to comparesections of a pie chart, including by freezing portions of the pie chartand rotating other slices of the pie chart. For example, a user may wantto compare contributions from, for example, twenty or more salesoutlets, each with values rendered as pie slices in a pie chart. Theuser may want to compare the contributions of sales by two differentsales outlets of interest. However, the slices corresponding to the twosales outlets may be widely separated in the pie chart. In this example,data visualization tool 22 may enable the user to freeze the pie slicefor a first one of the sales outlets of interest in the pie chart andthen bring the pie slice for the other sales outlet of interest eithernext to the first one, or in overlap or superposition to the first one,to enable an easy comparison of the difference between the twocontributions. Data visualization tool 22 may also show a delta displaypie slice showing the difference between two superposed pie slices,analogous to the column chart delta display discussed above and depictedin FIG. 8.

Data visualization tool 22 may be implemented in an application that mayrender data visualizations such as column charts, bar charts, and piecharts, and that may have a user input (e.g., mouse action) detectionmechanism through which data visualization tool 22 receives an inputindicating a particular data element that is subjected to a particularuser input, e.g., a right-click and then a menu selection for a “freeze”option. An implementer may register such an input event by freezing thecorresponding data fragment. An application implementing datavisualization tool 22 may similarly provide support for drag and dropoperations, which may be used to reposition widely separated datafragments closer to frozen data fragments. An application implementingdata visualization tool 22 may also provide input options (e.g., in atoolbar) for other operations such as releasing the frozen fragments.

FIG. 9 depicts an example process 300 for manipulating a datavisualization in response to user inputs in the graphical user interfaceof the data visualization that may be performed by a data visualizationtool 22, executing on one or more computing devices, in a businessintelligence (BI) system. Data visualization tool 22 may output adisplay of a data visualization in a graphical user interface (302).Data visualization tool 22 may receive a first user input selecting afirst fragment of the data visualization to freeze, thereby defining afrozen fragment of the data visualization, wherein the first user inputis entered via a pointer positioned at the first fragment of the datavisualization in the display of the data visualization in the graphicaluser interface (304). Data visualization tool 22 may receive a seconduser input selecting a second fragment of the data visualization toreposition to a new position relative to the frozen fragment of the datavisualization, thereby defining a repositioned fragment of the datavisualization, wherein the second user input is entered via the pointerpositioned at the second fragment of the data visualization in thedisplay of the data visualization in the graphical user interface. Datavisualization tool 22 may output a revised display of the datavisualization in the graphical user interface that displays therepositioned fragment of the data visualization in the new positionrelative to the frozen fragment of the data visualization (308).

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a computing device 80 that may be used toexecute a data visualization tool 22, according to an illustrativeexample. Computing device 80 may be a server such as one of web servers14A or application servers 14B as depicted in FIG. 2. Computing device80 may also be any server for providing an enterprise businessintelligence application in various examples, including a virtual serverthat may be run from or incorporate any number of computing devices. Acomputing device may operate as all or part of a real or virtual server,and may be or incorporate a workstation, server, mainframe computer,notebook or laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet, smartphone,feature phone, or other programmable data processing apparatus of anykind Other implementations of a computing device 80 may include acomputer having capabilities or formats other than or beyond thosedescribed herein.

In the illustrative example of FIG. 10, computing device 80 includescommunications fabric 82, which provides communications betweenprocessor unit 84, memory 86, persistent data storage 88, communicationsunit 90, and input/output (I/O) unit 92. Communications fabric 82 mayinclude a dedicated system bus, a general system bus, multiple busesarranged in hierarchical form, any other type of bus, bus network,switch fabric, or other interconnection technology. Communicationsfabric 82 supports transfer of data, commands, and other informationbetween various subsystems of computing device 80.

Processor unit 84 may be a programmable central processing unit (CPU)configured for executing programmed instructions stored in memory 86. Inanother illustrative example, processor unit 84 may be implemented usingone or more heterogeneous processor systems in which a main processor ispresent with secondary processors on a single chip. In yet anotherillustrative example, processor unit 84 may be a symmetricmulti-processor system containing multiple processors of the same type.Processor unit 84 may be a reduced instruction set computing (RISC)microprocessor such as a PowerPC® processor from IBM® Corporation, anx86 compatible processor such as a Pentium® processor from Intel®Corporation, an Athlon® processor from Advanced Micro Devices®Corporation, or any other suitable processor. In various examples,processor unit 84 may include a multi-core processor, such as a dualcore or quad core processor, for example. Processor unit 84 may includemultiple processing chips on one die, and/or multiple dies on onepackage or substrate, for example. Processor unit 84 may also includeone or more levels of integrated cache memory, for example. In variousexamples, processor unit 84 may comprise one or more CPUs distributedacross one or more locations.

Data storage 96 includes memory 86 and persistent data storage 88, whichare in communication with processor unit 84 through communicationsfabric 82. Memory 86 can include a random access semiconductor memory(RAM) for storing application data, i.e., computer program data, forprocessing. While memory 86 is depicted conceptually as a singlemonolithic entity, in various examples, memory 86 may be arranged in ahierarchy of caches and in other memory devices, in a single physicallocation, or distributed across a plurality of physical systems invarious forms. While memory 86 is depicted physically separated fromprocessor unit 84 and other elements of computing device 80, memory 86may refer equivalently to any intermediate or cache memory at anylocation throughout computing device 80, including cache memoryproximate to or integrated with processor unit 84 or individual cores ofprocessor unit 84.

Persistent data storage 88 may include one or more hard disc drives,solid state drives, flash drives, rewritable optical disc drives,magnetic tape drives, or any combination of these or other data storagemedia. Persistent data storage 88 may store computer-executableinstructions or computer-readable program code for an operating system,application files comprising program code, data structures or datafiles, and any other type of data. These computer-executableinstructions may be loaded from persistent data storage 88 into memory86 to be read and executed by processor unit 84 or other processors.Data storage 96 may also include any other hardware elements capable ofstoring information, such as, for example and without limitation, data,program code in functional form, and/or other suitable information,either on a temporary basis and/or a permanent basis.

Persistent data storage 88 and memory 86 are examples of physical,tangible, non-transitory computer-readable data storage devices. Datastorage 96 may include any of various forms of volatile memory that mayrequire being periodically electrically refreshed to maintain data inmemory, while those skilled in the art will recognize that this alsoconstitutes an example of a physical, tangible, non-transitorycomputer-readable data storage device. Executable instructions may bestored on a non-transitory medium when program code is loaded, stored,relayed, buffered, or cached on a non-transitory physical medium ordevice, including if only for only a short duration or only in avolatile memory format.

Processor unit 84 can also be suitably programmed to read, load, andexecute computer-executable instructions or computer-readable programcode for a data visualization tool 22, as described in greater detailabove. This program code may be stored on memory 86, persistent datastorage 88, or elsewhere in computing device 80. This program code mayalso take the form of program code 104 stored on computer-readablemedium 102 comprised in computer program product 100, and may betransferred or communicated, through any of a variety of local or remotemeans, from computer program product 100 to computing device 80 to beenabled to be executed by processor unit 84, as further explained below.

The operating system may provide functions such as device interfacemanagement, memory management, and multiple task management. Theoperating system can be a Unix based operating system such as the AIX®operating system from IBM® Corporation, a non-Unix based operatingsystem such as the Windows® family of operating systems from Microsoft®Corporation, a network operating system such as JavaOS® from Oracle®Corporation, a mobile device operating system such as iOS® from Apple®Inc., or any other suitable operating system. Processor unit 84 can besuitably programmed to read, load, and execute instructions of theoperating system.

Communications unit 90, in this example, provides for communicationswith other computing or communications systems or devices.Communications unit 90 may provide communications through the use ofphysical and/or wireless communications links. Communications unit 90may include a network interface card for interfacing with a LAN 16, anEthernet adapter, a Token Ring adapter, a modem for connecting to atransmission system such as a telephone line, or any other type ofcommunication interface. Communications unit 90 can be used foroperationally connecting many types of peripheral computing devices tocomputing device 80, such as printers, bus adapters, and othercomputers. Communications unit 90 may be implemented as an expansioncard or be built into a motherboard, for example.

The input/output unit 92 can support devices suited for input and outputof data with other devices that may be connected to computing device 80,such as keyboard, a mouse or other pointer, a touchscreen interface, aninterface for a printer or any other peripheral device, a removablemagnetic or optical disc drive (including CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or Blu-Ray),a universal serial bus (USB) receptacle, or any other type of inputand/or output device. Input/output unit 92 may also include any type ofinterface for video output in any type of video output protocol and anytype of monitor or other video display technology, in various examples.It will be understood that some of these examples may overlap with eachother, or with example components of communications unit 90 or datastorage 96. Input/output unit 92 may also include appropriate devicedrivers for any type of external device, or such device drivers mayreside elsewhere on computing device 80 as appropriate.

Computing device 80 also includes a display adapter 94 in thisillustrative example, which provides one or more connections for one ormore display devices, such as display device 98, which may include anyof a variety of types of display devices. It will be understood thatsome of these examples may overlap with example components ofcommunications unit 90 or input/output unit 92. Input/output unit 92 mayalso include appropriate device drivers for any type of external device,or such device drivers may reside elsewhere on computing device 80 asappropriate. Display adapter 94 may include one or more video cards, oneor more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more video-capableconnection ports, or any other type of data connector capable ofcommunicating video data, in various examples. Display device 98 may beany kind of video display device, such as a monitor, a television, or aprojector, in various examples.

Input/output unit 92 may include a drive, socket, or outlet forreceiving computer program product 100, which comprises acomputer-readable medium 102 having computer program code 104 storedthereon. For example, computer program product 100 may be a CD-ROM, aDVD-ROM, a Blu-Ray disc, a magnetic disc, a USB stick, a flash drive, oran external hard disc drive, as illustrative examples, or any othersuitable data storage technology.

Computer-readable medium 102 may include any type of optical, magnetic,or other physical medium that physically encodes program code 104 as abinary series of different physical states in each unit of memory that,when read by computing device 80, induces a physical signal that is readby processor 84 that corresponds to the physical states of the basicdata storage elements of storage medium 102, and that inducescorresponding changes in the physical state of processor unit 84. Thatphysical program code signal may be modeled or conceptualized ascomputer-readable instructions at any of various levels of abstraction,such as a high-level programming language, assembly language, or machinelanguage, but ultimately constitutes a series of physical electricaland/or magnetic interactions that physically induce a change in thephysical state of processor unit 84, thereby physically causingprocessor unit 84 to generate physical outputs that correspond to thecomputer-executable instructions, in a way that causes computing device80 to physically assume new capabilities that it did not have until itsphysical state was changed by loading the executable instructionscomprised in program code 104.

In some illustrative examples, program code 104 may be downloaded over anetwork to data storage 96 from another device or computer system foruse within computing device 80. Program code 104 comprisingcomputer-executable instructions may be communicated or transferred tocomputing device 80 from computer-readable medium 102 through ahard-line or wireless communications link to communications unit 90and/or through a connection to input/output unit 92. Computer-readablemedium 102 comprising program code 104 may be located at a separate orremote location from computing device 80, and may be located anywhere,including at any remote geographical location anywhere in the world, andmay relay program code 104 to computing device 80 over any type of oneor more communication links, such as the Internet and/or other packetdata networks. The program code 104 may be transmitted over a wirelessInternet connection, or over a shorter-range direct wireless connectionsuch as wireless LAN, Bluetooth™, Wi-Fi™, or an infrared connection, forexample. Any other wireless or remote communication protocol may also beused in other implementations.

The communications link and/or the connection may include wired and/orwireless connections in various illustrative examples, and program code104 may be transmitted from a source computer-readable medium 102 overnon-tangible media, such as communications links or wirelesstransmissions containing the program code 104. Program code 104 may bemore or less temporarily or durably stored on any number of intermediatetangible, physical computer-readable devices and media, such as anynumber of physical buffers, caches, main memory, or data storagecomponents of servers, gateways, network nodes, mobility managemententities, or other network assets, en route from its original sourcemedium to computing device 80.

As will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, aspects of thepresent disclosure may be embodied as a method, a device, a system, or acomputer program product, for example. Accordingly, aspects of thepresent disclosure may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment,an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software,micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardwareaspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,”“module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure maytake the form of a computer program product embodied in one or morecomputer-readable data storage devices or computer-readable data storagecomponents that include computer-readable medium(s) having computerreadable program code embodied thereon. For example, a computer-readabledata storage device may be embodied as a tangible device that mayinclude a tangible, non-transitory data storage medium, as well as acontroller configured for receiving instructions from a resource such asa central processing unit (CPU) to retrieve information stored at one ormore particular addresses in the tangible, non-transitory data storagemedium, and for retrieving and providing the information stored at thoseparticular one or more addresses in the data storage medium.

The data storage device may store information that encodes bothinstructions and data, for example, and may retrieve and communicateinformation encoding instructions and/or data to other resources such asa CPU, for example. The data storage device may take the form of a mainmemory component such as a hard disc drive or a flash drive in variousembodiments, for example. The data storage device may also take the formof another memory component such as a RAM integrated circuit or a bufferor a local cache in any of a variety of forms, in various embodiments.This may include a cache integrated with a controller, a cacheintegrated with a graphics processing unit (GPU), a cache integratedwith a system bus, a cache integrated with a multi-chip die, a cacheintegrated within a CPU, or the processor registers within a CPU, asvarious illustrative examples. The data storage apparatus or datastorage system may also take a distributed form such as a redundantarray of independent discs (RAID) system or a cloud-based data storageservice, and still be considered to be a data storage component or datastorage system as a part of or a component of an embodiment of a systemof the present disclosure, in various embodiments.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, anelectronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, electro-optic,heat-assisted magnetic, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device,or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list ofadditional specific examples of a computer readable storage mediumincludes the following: an electrical connection having one or morewires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disc, a random access memory(RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compactdisc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magneticstorage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In thecontext of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be anytangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or inconnection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device,for example.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to radiofrequency (RF) or other wireless, wire line, optical fiber cable, etc.,or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Computer program code forcarrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may bewritten in any combination of one or more programming languages,including an object oriented programming language such as Java,Smalltalk, C++, or the like, or other imperative programming languagessuch as C, or functional languages such as Common Lisp, Haskell, orClojure, or multi-paradigm languages such as C#, Python, or Ruby, amonga variety of illustrative examples. One or more sets of applicableprogram code may execute partly or entirely on the user's desktop orlaptop computer, smartphone, tablet, or other computing device; as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computing device andpartly on a remote computing device; or entirely on one or more remoteservers or other computing devices, among various examples. In thelatter scenario, the remote computing device may be connected to theuser's computing device through any type of network, including a localarea network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection maybe made to an external computer (for example, through a public networksuch as the Internet using an Internet Service Provider), and for whicha virtual private network (VPN) may also optionally be used.

In various illustrative embodiments, various computer programs, softwareapplications, modules, or other software elements may be executed inconnection with one or more user interfaces being executed on a clientcomputing device, that may also interact with one or more web serverapplications that may be running on one or more servers or otherseparate computing devices and may be executing or accessing othercomputer programs, software applications, modules, databases, datastores, or other software elements or data structures. A graphical userinterface may be executed on a client computing device and may accessapplications from the one or more web server applications, for example.Various content within a browser or dedicated application graphical userinterface may be rendered or executed in or in association with the webbrowser using any combination of any release version of HTML, CSS,JavaScript, XML, AJAX, JSON, and various other languages ortechnologies. Other content may be provided by computer programs,software applications, modules, or other elements executed on the one ormore web servers and written in any programming language and/or using oraccessing any computer programs, software elements, data structures, ortechnologies, in various illustrative embodiments.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus,systems, and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, may create means for implementing the functions/actsspecified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also beloaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, orother devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed onthe computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices, to producea computer-implemented process such that the instructions that executeon the computer or other programmable apparatus provide or embodyprocesses for implementing the functions or acts specified in theflowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof devices, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which includes one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some implementations, the functions noted in the block mayoccur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocksshown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may be executed in a different order, or thefunctions in different blocks may be processed in different but parallelprocessing threads, depending upon the functionality involved. Eachblock of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofexecutable instructions, special purpose hardware, and general-purposeprocessing hardware.

The description of the present disclosure has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to beexhaustive or limited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be understood by persons of ordinaryskill in the art based on the concepts disclosed herein. The particularexamples described were chosen and disclosed in order to explain theprinciples of the disclosure and example practical applications, and toenable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosurefor various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated. The various examples described herein andother embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computing system comprising: one or moreprocessors; one or more computer-readable data storage devices; andcomputer-executable program instructions, stored on the one or morecomputer-readable data storage devices for execution by the one or moreprocessors, wherein the program instructions comprise: programinstructions for outputting a display of a chart in a graphical userinterface, wherein the chart comprises a plurality of graphical dataelement representations that represent data points in a datavisualization; program instructions for receiving a first user inputselecting a first fragment of the chart to freeze, thereby defining afrozen fragment of the chart and a remaining portion of the chart as anon-frozen portion of the chart; program instructions for receiving asecond user input selecting a second fragment of the chart from thenon-frozen portion of the chart to reposition to a new position in thechart relative to the frozen fragment of the chart, thereby defining arepositioned fragment of the chart, wherein graphical data elementrepresentations of the non-frozen portion of the chart are circulatedbetween the frozen portion of the chart and an opposing end of thenon-frozen portion of the chart, such that as one of the graphical dataelement representations of interest is being re-positioned to adjacencyto the frozen fragment, graphical data element representations of thenon-frozen portion of the chart that were previously positioned betweenthe frozen portion and the selected portion are circulated around to anopposing end of the non-frozen portion of the chart; programinstructions for displaying, by the computing device, a visualindication of a position of a join in the chart, where the circulatedfragment of the non-frozen portion of the chart and the opposing end ofthe non-frozen portion of the chart that were previously positioned atopposing ends of the non-frozen portion of the chart are positionedadjacent to each other; program instructions for outputting, by thecomputing device, a visual indication of a delta between therepositioned fragment and the frozen fragment in the revised display ofthe chart; and program instructions for outputting, by the computingdevice, a displayed number proximate to the visual indication of adelta, wherein the displayed number indicates the difference betweenvalues of data points corresponding to the repositioned fragment and thefrozen fragment in the revised display of the chart.
 2. The computingsystem of claim 1, further comprising: program instructions fordisplaying a visual indication of a boundary between the frozen fragmentand a portion of the chart that remains non-frozen in the chart.
 3. Thecomputing system of claim 1, wherein the program instructions furthercomprise: program instructions for displaying, by the computing device,a visual indication of a position of a discontinuity in the chart, wherefragments of a portion of the chart that remain non-frozen and werepreviously separated by a portion of the chart that was subsequentlyfrozen are positioned adjacent to each other.
 4. A computer programproduct comprising executable instructions stored on a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium, for configuring one or moreprogrammable processors to: output a display of a chart in a graphicaluser interface, wherein the chart comprises a plurality of graphicaldata element representations that represent data points in a datavisualization; receive a first user input selecting a first fragment ofthe chart to freeze, thereby defining a frozen fragment of the chart anda remaining portion of the chart as a non-frozen portion of the chart;receive a second user input selecting a second fragment of the chartfrom the non-frozen portion of the chart to reposition to a new positionin the chart relative to the frozen fragment of the chart, therebydefining a repositioned fragment of the chart, wherein graphical dataelement representations of the non-frozen portion of the chart arecirculated between the frozen portion of the chart and an opposing endof the non-frozen portion of the chart, such that as one of thegraphical data element representations of interest is beingre-positioned to adjacency to the frozen fragment, graphical dataelement representations of the non-frozen portion of the chart that werepreviously positioned between the frozen portion and the selectedportion are circulated around to an opposing end of the non-frozenportion of the chart; display a visual indication of a position of ajoin in the chart, where the circulated fragment of the non-frozenportion of the chart and the opposing end of the non-frozen portion ofthe chart that were previously positioned at opposing ends of thenon-frozen portion of the chart are positioned adjacent to each other;output a visual indication of a delta between the repositioned fragmentand the frozen fragment in the revised display of the chart; and outputa displayed number proximate to the visual indication of a delta,wherein the displayed number indicates the difference between values ofdata points corresponding to the repositioned fragment and the frozenfragment in the revised display of the chart.
 5. The computing system ofclaim 1, wherein the program instructions further comprise: programinstructions for enabling, by the computing device, the first userinput, for selecting the first fragment of the chart to freeze, byreceiving a right-click input while the pointer is positioned at thefirst fragment of the chart, and displaying a context menu comprising aselectable option to freeze the data fragment.
 6. The computing systemof claim 1, wherein the program instructions further comprise: programinstructions for enabling, by the computing device, the second userinput, for selecting the second fragment of the chart to reposition to anew position relative to the frozen fragment, by receiving a left-clickinput while the pointer is positioned at the second fragment of thechart, and displaying the second fragment in a modified position thatcorresponds to a modified position of the pointer.
 7. The computingsystem of claim 1, wherein the chart comprises a column chart, whereinthe graphical data element representations are data columns, the frozenfragment of the chart comprises one or more data columns of the columnchart, and the repositioned fragment of the chart comprises one or moredata columns of the column chart.
 8. The computing system of claim 1,wherein the chart comprises a pie chart, wherein the graphical dataelement representations are data pie slices, the frozen fragment of thechart comprises one or more data pie slices of the pie chart, and therepositioned fragment of the chart comprises one or more data pie slicesof the pie chart.
 9. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the frozenfragment is a first frozen fragment and the repositioned fragment is afirst repositioned fragment, wherein the program instructions furthercomprise: program instructions for receiving, by the computing device, athird user input selecting a third fragment of the chart to freeze,thereby defining a second frozen fragment of the chart, wherein thethird user input is entered via the pointer positioned at the thirdfragment of the chart in the display of the chart in the graphical userinterface; program instructions for receiving, by the computing device,a fourth user input selecting a fourth fragment of the chart toreposition to a new position relative to the first frozen fragment andthe second frozen fragment of the chart, thereby defining a secondrepositioned fragment of the chart, wherein the fourth user input isentered via the pointer positioned at the fourth fragment of the chartin the display of the chart in the graphical user interface; and programinstructions for outputting, by the computing device, a new reviseddisplay of the chart in the graphical user interface that displays thesecond repositioned fragment of the chart in the new position relativeto the first frozen fragment and second frozen fragment of the chart.10. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the program instructionsfurther comprise: program instructions for receiving a third user inputselecting the frozen fragment to release from freezing; and programinstructions for outputting, by the computing device, a new reviseddisplay of the chart in the graphical user interface that displays therepositioned fragment and the frozen fragment in positions in the chartpreviously occupied by the repositioned fragment and the frozen fragmentprior to the freezing of the frozen fragment.
 11. The computing systemof claim 1, wherein the program instructions for defining the frozenfragment of the chart further comprise: program instructions forfreezing a range of data elements bounded at a first end by a dataelement indicated by a position of the pointer during the first userinput, and program instructions for the range of data elements forfreezing being bounded at an opposing end of the range from the firstend by an edge of the chart.
 12. The computing system of claim 1,wherein the program instructions for defining the frozen fragment of thechart further comprise program instructions for freezing only one ormore data elements indicated by one or more positions of the pointerduring the first user input.
 13. The computer program product of claim4, further comprising executable instructions for configuring the one ormore programmable processors to: display a visual indication of aboundary between the frozen fragment and a portion of the chart thatremains non-frozen in the chart.
 14. The computer program product ofclaim 4, further comprising executable instructions for configuring theone or more programmable processors to: display a visual indication of aposition of a discontinuity in the chart, where fragments of a portionof the chart that remain non-frozen and were previously separated by aportion of the chart that was subsequently frozen are positionedadjacent to each other.
 15. The computer program product of claim 4,further comprising executable instructions for configuring the one ormore programmable processors to: enable the first user input, forselecting the first fragment of the chart to freeze, by receiving aright-click input while the pointer is positioned at the first fragmentof the chart, and display a context menu comprising a selectable optionto freeze the data fragment.
 16. The computer program product of claim4, further comprising executable instructions for configuring the one ormore programmable processors to: enable the second user input, forselecting the second fragment of the chart to reposition to a newposition relative to the frozen fragment, by receiving a left-clickinput while the pointer is positioned at the second fragment of thechart, and display the second fragment in a modified position thatcorresponds to a modified position of the pointer.
 17. The computerprogram product of claim 4, wherein the chart comprises a column chart,wherein the graphical data element representations are data columns, thefrozen fragment of the chart comprises one or more data columns of thecolumn chart, and the repositioned fragment of the chart comprises oneor more data columns of the column chart.
 18. The computer programproduct of claim 4, wherein the chart comprises a pie chart, wherein thegraphical data element representations are data pie slices, the frozenfragment of the chart comprises one or more data pie slices of the piechart, and the repositioned fragment of the chart comprises one or moredata pie slices of the pie chart.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst user input is entered via a pointer positioned at the firstfragment of the chart in the display of the chart in the graphical userinterface, and wherein the second user input is entered via a pointerpositioned at the second fragment of the chart selected forrepositioning in the graphical user interface.
 20. The method of claim1, wherein the frozen fragment comprises a first plurality of thegraphical data element representations, and the non-frozen portioncomprises a second plurality of the graphical data elementrepresentations of the chart.